Key
Purple – good information, great for studying
Red – Might be on a test, must be copied exactly
What is a Crusade?
It is a war for religious reasons. The first crusade conquered Jerusalem and held it for almost 100 years. The second crusade, the Muslim leader Saladin (SALA-DEAN) retakes Jerusalem. The third Crusade is when King Richard fights Saladin- and loses :(. While gone Prince John takes over. Within the fourth and eighth crusades, Crusaders lose even more. It was basically, an epic FAIL.
But though it was an epic failure, there were some positive aspects. The Holy Land remains under Arab control. Europeans realized there’s a whole new world and more to learn about. Trade and technology expanded: gun powder, coffee, etc. Europe had become more unified as the knights now had a common enemy. Sadly, this is the event that triggers the end of feudalism.
THE END OF FEUDALISM/THE BLACK DEATH
The black death: A fatal disease that spread across Asia and Europe. It was brought to Europe by sailors in 1346.
It started in the south and spread to the north rapidly. In just 5 years it killed about 25 million people. 3 ways to die from it: Cough to death, choke on your own blood, or get giant boils (extremely painful scabs on the skin). All classes were affected- peasants, nobles, the clergy, men, women, children, etc. Even kings and queens were affected! This led to a breakdown in society and families. Parents abandoned kids, priests abandoned followers. People were rarely buried by themselves. They’d all be thrown into a dirt hole and buried together. In the end, about 1/3 of the population died. There weren’t enough workers to harvest crops or produce goods. The survivors demanded better pay and the feudal system started to break down. Peasants had to work harder to make up for the dead. They demanded to be paid causing Feudalism to end. As with most medieval cultures, most Europeans were farmers. As time went on though more and more jobs were available. People could start making money and no longer had to rely so heavily on the feudal lords.
The Crusades helped by uniting the knights against a common enemy.
The Magna Carta limited the power of kings.
New technology made knights less important.
Will be continued in part 3
History Plus 